Hadrian and Hardman: Act 1: Hard Luck
by Hardy Har Har
Summary: During the events of the first Battle Network game, Netto's brief encounter with a Dataguard for hire is but the first brief glimpse at a larger plot concieved by an organization soon to become infamous: the World3.
1. Act 1: Hard Luck

Rockman EXE Side Story: The Adventures of Hadrian Graves and his Navi, Hardman EXE.

The world is a strange place. Especially this world.

This is the world of the Network. Here, humans and Navis work side by side to accomplish everyday tasks, daring rescues, and even waste time. Almost everyone has a Navi that they keep in a Personal Terminal, or PeT. Each human is a friend with his or her Navi, and the two form an inseparable bond.

Well, most of the time.

"SLOW THE DAMN TRUCK DOWN!"

"I'm trying, Hadrian, but you must be patient."

"Patience be DAMNED! SLOW US DOWN!"

A mailbox snapped free of its earthly bond and shattered the windshield of the blue truck that careened down the sleep street in ACDC Town. The man in the truck, a black baseball cap on his head and three day stubble on his face, gave a shout of surprise as shards of glass flew past him. In the confusion and the cloud of lethal melted sand, his cigarette dropped down into the seat.

"That cut looks nasty."

"THANK you, Hardman! Could you see about stopping us please?" Hadrian barked at the small PeT on the seat next to him. He could already feel blood flowing down his check, neck, and seeping into his shirt.

"I suppose. What else can I hit?"

"Hardman!"

"Oh, THAT tree looks good."

"YOU PIECE OF BUG-RIDDEN HORSE SH—"

Act 1: Hard Luck

The tranquil afternoon of a play-filled summer day in ACDC park was broken into tiny, unrecognizable fragments by the blocky blue truck that smashed into the unyielding oak tree. Netto Hikari was one of the first on the scene, along with his friend Meriu and his longtime rival Dex. This was a monumental event to the children. Something big enough to interrupt a net battle between Netto's Navi Rockman and Dex's Navi Gutsman was rare and, until the moment the truck's grill met the tree's bark, unprecedented.

"You think he's all right?" Dex asked as they took in the sight of the now smoking car.

"Um, moron?" Netto chided. "He just crashed his car. Come on, help me get him out."

"Roll's already sent out a call for an ambulance," Meriu put in, staying farther away from the wreck than the two boys. A crowd of children and some adults were starting to gather.

"Er, yeah. Good thinking, Meriu," Dex fumbled, trying to be angry at Netto and flirt with Meriu all at once.

Netto grabbed the driver's side door handle and tried pulling it open. "Aw, man . . . it's stuck. Gimme a hand, man!" he shouted at Dex.

The larger boy made his way around the wreckage and grabbed Netto's midsection, helping him pull. "Man," Dex grunted after a moment of effort, "This thing's stuck tight!"

"You're telling me," a man in a black baseball cap and a blue coat that went down to his knees said, leaning on the roof on the other side of the truck. The two young boys continued to try prying the door open as Hadrian lit up a cigarette. "You nearly got me killed, Hardman."

"You requested we stop. You need to be more specific," a heavy, almost steel door voice answered him.

Meriu, ignoring the now useless efforts of the boys, made her way around the tree. "Are you okay?"

"Eh," the man shrugged, taking a puff of his cigarette. "I'll live."

The young girl shuddered at the sight of the gash on the side of his face. "Maybe you should see a doctor?"

"You think so?" The man gave her a cocked-eyebrown look and bent the truck's rearview mirror to get a look at himself. His face immediately went pale. "Wow. . . that's kinda bad."

"Yeah."

On the other side of the truck, the door finally detached itself from tortured hinges, and sent Netto and Dex tumbling backwards.

"Wonderful," Hardman's voice came from inside the truck. "Maybe now you can save me from this archaic device." There, between the steering wheel and the now deflating airbag on the passenger side (which had been the only airbag to deploy), in the tape deck of the demised vehicle, was a PeT, jammed in as far as it would go.

Meriu caught sight of that as well. A female voice, although just as electronic as Hardman's gave a small yelp. "Oh my . . . That's horrible!"

"He earned it," the man grumbled. "I'll grab him at some point. Maybe."

"Without me, you get no work," the stuck Navi said in a slightly smug tone.

The older man rolled his eyes and grumbled something that made Meriu sure she never wanted to repeat it in front of her parents, and reached in and yanked out the PeT.

At this point, now free of both the car door and Dex, Netto came around the tree and stood next to Meriu. "So you're Navi's name is Hardman, huh?" the eager young net battler asked. Hadrian nodded and barely opened his mouth before he was cut off by the boy. "Cool! My Navi is Rockman! I'm Netto Hikari, nice to meet you!"

Hadrian tentatively took the proffered hand of the younger man. "Eh, Hadrian. Hadrian Graves. Dataguard for hire."

Dex joined his friends. "Dataguard? What's that?"

A voice from Netto's hip answered. "A Dataguard is like a bodyguard, but they excel at protecting files and systems instead of actual people. Sort of like mall security, or an armored car guard."

"Pretty much," Hardman droned. "You must be Rockman."

Netto unhooked his PeT from his belt and brought it up in front of him. The sleek form of Rockman came into Hadrian's view. The Navi snapped off a short salute. "A pleasure."

"Likewise," Hadrian managed through a puff of his cigarette.

"Hey, maybe we can net battle sometime," Netto grinned. "I'm the best in ACDC Town."

"Not likely! Gutsman is better than your whimpy Rockman any day of any week in any month you care to name!" Dex shouted, trying to defend his Navi's honor.

"Yeah! Guts!"

Meriu turned and scoffed at them, if it is indeed possible to scoff AT someone. "Guys, he's a paid professional! He's probably really good at net battling."

"Well, I'm not bad . . ." Hadrian shrugged.

"He's terrible," Hardman cut in. "I end up having to do most of the work."

"Buzzkill," Hadrian muttered. To the kids, he said "Where can I find a nurse or something? I need to make sure I'm not broken too badly."

"The closest nurse is the one at the school. She's pretty good," Meriu told him.

"And cute!" Netto managed to say before a sharp elbow caught him in the gut. He sputtered and coughed for a little bit while Meriu smiled and looked innocent.

"Okay, thanks."

As the man in the blue coat started to walk away from the wreckage of the truck, only Roll, Meriu's Navi, thought of something.

"Hey . . . Where is the ambulance I called?"


	2. Scene 1: World 3

"There we go, Mr. Graves. All stitched up," the nurse smiled as she cut the rest of the thread off the now finished stitches.

"Appreciated, miss . . .?"

"Satoshi," she smiled. "Most of the kids here just call me Nurse Mina, though."

Hadrian checked out his face in the mirror, feeling a weight in his stomach at the sight of the stitches. Putting a bandage on it as Mina started to clean up her medical supplies, he threw a glance at his PeT. "Find any work around here, Hardman?"

"Nothing on the official channels. I even meandered on down to the Net Police servers. Not much there either."

"Anything on the usual back channels?" Hadrian asked, carefully wording his question.

"Not much there, either."

The nurse spoke up. "What kind of work are you looking for?"

"Data protection," Hadrian said unthinkingly. "We're bodyguards for hire."

Mina chuckled. "Well, you're in the wrong town, sir. Nothing much ever happens here, for good or for evil. The only person I can think of that might need your services is Dr. Hikari, Netto's father, and he's already got the Official Net Battlers to back him up."

Hadrian sighed, then thought of something. "Wait, that kid is the son of THE Dr. Hikari? I thought that guy lived in Netopia?"

"No, but he does travel a lot . . ."

"Here's something," Hardman interjected.

"What do you have, Hardy?"

"Something from a Mr. Albert Wily. Says he needs some time sensitive material held onto for a week or so."

"Pay good?"

"About ten thousand, give or take. Depends on damages and a business venture."

"A gamble job? I hate those. But . . . if there isn't much else . . ." Hadrian sighed.

"Says to apply in person at 5:00 by the storage facility at the base of Mt. Jinoamoa." Hardman read off.

"That's only a 2 hour hike to the north of the school," Mina told them.

"No buses or anything?"

"Pfft, no roads. That place's been abandoned for a few years now."

Hadrian sighed again and put his hate back on. "I hate jobs like this. Oh well. Thanks again, Ms. Satoshi."

"No problem, Mr. Graves. Don't be a stranger, okay?"

He tipped his hat as he walked out of the first aid room. "Cheers."

As Hadrian made his way out of the school with his PeT, Hardman felt the need to speak up. "That was needlessly polite of you."

"Eh, I'm just trying to stave off the homicidal rage of a nicotine fit. I would KILL for a cigarette right now."

"You'll have plenty of time to have one on the way to the job. We'll have to get started if we want to be early. It's 2:30 right now."

Hadrian smiled a mirthless smile. "Actually, I meant that I'm out of cigarettes. Maybe this Wily guy will have one I can bum off him or something."

Act 1: Scene 1: World 3

"I absolutely detest you. Do you know that?"

"I told you that it didn't LOOK like poison ivy. Is it my fault if I can't make sense out of your world from a perpendicular perspective?"

"I swear to god, if I'm allergic to that stuff we found . . ."

"The mushrooms? There were an awful lot of those, weren't there?"

". . . I will personally wire you back to front and upside down." Hadrian growled.

"Ah. You must be Mr. Graves."

Hadrian focused his attention on the man before him. He had expected a lot from a man with a name like Mr. Wily. Somehow, the picture of a disheveled Einstein with a maniac grin and some sort of skull motif cane had popped into his head. It just seemed . . . right.

THIS, however, was radically different. It was not one person, but three people. One of them was a tall, read haired man with a goatee and perpetually angry expression. Another was female, presumable, taking into account the colorful clothing and wild twin pony-tailed pink hair. The third could have been a man or an exhibit in a museum as the very picture of primitive witch doctor. It was this last one who spoke to him.

"Mr. Wily apologizes that he was unable to open his schedule for this meeting, and instead sent us."

Hadrian shrugged. This sort of thing was common in a criminal venture. It was the kind of job he'd gotten all too familiar with as a 'for hire' Dataguard. Being a Dataguard with morals just meant you went hungry.

"So you three are his major lackeys?"

"Not the word I would use for myself," the witch doctor said in a low, droll tone, "but somewhat appropriate. I am Marharjarma."

"Hinoken," the red head said in a short, gruff tone.

"And I'm Maddy Malone!" the now definite female smiled proudly.

"Good. Intros are out of the way. Can I get on with my job now?" Hadrian asked.

"Patience is a virtue, Mr. Graves, as is the ability to perform the tasks we require of you."

"Meaning a test, huh?"

"We gotta be sure you can do what you say you can," Hinoken put in.

"So what's my test? Fighting one of you three, I imagine?"

"Perceptive," Maraharjarma smiled.

"All my systems are ready to go," Hardman chimed in. "Let's get this over with, spend our week bumming around and get paid."

"We have a net battle machine all set up inside, fuzzy," Maddy grinned.

As the three led the way into the storage building, Hadrian looked at his PeT. "Fuzzy?"

"Yeah, man, do you need a shave. On the one side of your face, at least. Not so much the side with the stitches. Mina took care of that."

Hadrian rolled his eyes as he followed the three criminals inside.

Moments late, Hardman touched down inside the blank, bleak area of the net battle machine's network. Deep blue in color and cylindrical in nature, Hardman's body floated off of the ground, with two yellow eyes looking out from between the body and a round disc of armor on top. His hands, which were almost half as big as his body, floated roughly arms length from his body. Taking a moment to stretch, his voice resounded through the empty system. "Let's rumble."

Opposite him, another blue Navi beamed into existence. Magicman stood at his full height and took in his opponent. "Your challenge is to survive in battle against me for 5 minutes, or to delete me. I will warn you now that accomplishing the latter will be much more difficult than the former."

Hardman's head disc shifted from one side to the other, like a boxer cracking his neck before a fight. "Yeah, yeah. Bring it on, Voodooman."

"That's Magicman," the blue Navi snapped, raising his arms and drawing mystic sigils in the air. The symbols hung there for a moment before Dash viruses rocketed out of them.

"Summoner type," Hardman grunted, one of his hands spreading out into an open palm. The hand glowed for a moment and increased in size to become a thick shield which the darker blue Navi used to block the incoming viruses. "Try a breaker! HARD KNUCKLE!"

Hardman's other hand, closed in a fist, flew through the air at the other Navi with a speed that slightly surpassed the viruses he'd summoned. Not bothering to move, Magicman summoned another virus which simply took the fist full on. The virus exploded as the fist returned to Hardman.

"So you can attack as well as defend," Magicman stated. "But can you improvise?"

Beneath Hardman, a magic circle seemed to draw itself, and began to glow.

"About to find out, aren't we?" Hardman said in a grinning tone.


End file.
